Kentucky remains atop AP poll

Syracuse, Kansas join Wildcats atop the latest top 25

Kentucky, Syracuse and Kansas are the top three teams in The Associated Press’ college basketball poll for a second consecutive week.

Kentucky, which finished unbeaten in the Southeastern Conference, is a runaway No. 1 for a seventh consecutive week, receiving 63 first-place votes Monday from the 65-member national media panel.

Big East champion Syracuse, which received two first-place votes, is second for the sixth week in a row. Kansas, the Big 12 champion for an eighth consecutive season, is followed by North Carolina, Missouri, Duke, Ohio State, Michigan State, Marquette and Michigan.

Gonzaga, at No. 24, and Iowa State, at 25th, are the week’s newcomers. Gonzaga was out the last two weeks, while Iowa State is ranked for the first time since the opening week of 2005-06.

Louisville, which was ranked as high as fourth this season, dropped out from 19th, while Virginia was 24th.